Michelle Duncan Movies
A mischievous girl accuses her older sister's lover of a crime he did not commit, only to find that her words have irrevocably and permanently changed the lives of all involved in a film that re-teams the filmmakers behind Pride & Prejudice to adapt the best-selling 2002 novel by author Ian McEwan. The year is 1935, and as the summer heat takes hold, 13-year-old fledgling writer Briony Tallis watches her older sister, Cecilia (Keira Knightley), get undressed and go frolicking in the garden fountain on her family's country estate. The housekeeper's son, Robbie (James McAvoy), a childhood friend and recent Cambridge graduate, also witnesses the innocent act. When Robbie and Cecilia subsequently cross a particularly sensitive boundary and the scheming Briony accuses Robbie of an unspeakable transgression for which the boy is wholly innocent, the repercussions of her unfounded claim threaten to affect all three for decades to come. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James McAvoy, Keira Knightley, (more)
Two strong-willed women wield their influence on a shy teenaged boy in this coming-of-age comedy from the United Kingdom. Seventeen-year-old Ben (Rupert Grint) is the son of a soft-spoken vicar (Nicholas Farrell), but it's his mother, Laura (Laura Linney), who rules the household, and she has put Ben cheerfully under her thumb, keeping him busy with a variety of good-will errands for the church and numerous local charity causes. With summer vacation looming before him, Ben is looking forward to learning to drive, but Laura is more interested in spending time with one of the more charming members of the church staff than helping Ben learn how to operate the family automobile. Wanting to earn some pocket money, Ben starts looking for a part-time job and ends up working for Evie Walton (Julie Walters), an elderly and slightly eccentric actress who needs help keeping her garden in shape. Laura believes Evie isn't an especially good influence on her son, though Ben is happy to find someone who encourages his interest in poetry and the larger world (especially girls). One day, Evie announces that she needs to ride to Edinburgh, where she is supposed to give a reading as part of the city's massive music and arts festival. While Ben doesn't have his license, he volunteers to take the wheel, and soon he's confronted with various forms of decadence that his mother has frequently warned him to avoid. Driving Lessons received its North American premiere at the 2006 Tribeca Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Julie Walters, Rupert Grint, (more)
- 2008
When Amanda Price ($Jemima Rooper) discovers a secret passage in her bathroom, she enters the fictional world of her favorite novel, Jane Austen's Pride & Prejudice in this comedy from director Dan Zeff. Soon her presence changes the story that she knows so well, and Amanda must correct everything before it's too late. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jemima Rooper, Alex Kingston, (more)
A woman is thrust into a world where everything is subtly unfamiliar in this edgy thriller from writer and director Sean Ellis. Gina McVay (Lena Headey) is a radiologist who is enjoying dinner one evening with her family and her boyfriend Stefan (Melvil Poupaud) when a mirror shatters for no apparent reason. After a few moments, no one thinks much of it, but the next day Gina is leaving work and she sees something even more troubling -- a woman who looks just like her, driving a car identical to her own. Curious, Gina sneaks into the doppelganger's apartment and sees a photo of herself and her father in the hallway. Seriously rattled, Gina runs out and drives away, only to get in an accident that lands her in the hospital. After she's released, Gina asks Stefan if she can stay with him, but while he looks the same, his personality and behavior are quite different from the way she remembers him, and she begins having vivid nightmares which become all the more terrifying when the same horrific images begin popping up in her waking hours. The Broken received its American premiere at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lena Headey, Ulrich Thomsen, (more)
